A/N: As promised, the bonus chapter for this week. Hope you enjoy!

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Act One

Chapter Fourteen

Diamondback

On the following day Paden again tried to go about her business without thinking about Anders, but she still wasn't very successful. She knew she wouldn't be content until she saw him again. She needed to know that he was all right after the other night.

So, good idea or not, she headed into Darktown alone, not telling anyone where she was going. She remembered the way to Anders' clinic and she was confident in her abilities to take care of herself.

As she entered the clinic her heart beat a little faster. Would he appreciate seeing her again, or would she be an unwelcome reminder of the other night?

He was talking with a patient on the other side of the room, but he was facing the door, so he noticed her when she walked in. He made eye contact and held up one finger, asking her to wait.

She nodded and wandered over to an empty corner. She clasped her hands behind her back and shuffled about restlessly as she gazed around the room. The clinic was a rough place, just like the rest of Darktown. The floor was dirt and the walls and ceiling were crumbling and covered with cobwebs in the highest reaches. But relatively speaking it was clean and well kept. It was the most inviting place in Darktown Paden had seen thus far, and there was still that same calming atmosphere she had felt on her first visit.

Finally Anders finished with his patient and came over to Paden, a smile on his face that reached all the way to his eyes. Such a difference from the other night. He actually looked pleased to see her.

"You remind me of a friend I had once," he said. "She was always getting into all kinds of trouble, dragging me along." He arched one eyebrow as if asking a question.

Paden laughed. "Sounds like me. Would you like me to drag you along?"

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Maybe." Then his smile faded slightly. "I got a bit weighty the last time we talked. Sorry for putting that on you."

Paden shook her head and waved it away. "You can tell me anything," she said.

"Anything?" Anders said, arching his eyebrows and giving another lopsided grin. "Be careful what you offer." He glanced down at his hands. "I just…I hope I didn't seem too selfish when I told you about Justice."

"No, not at all," Paden assured. "You just wanted me to understand."

He looked up at her again. "I didn't know what would happen," he said, as if he felt like he still needed to justify his actions to her. "I figured a friend, a willing host…it had to be better than playing the demon and haunting some corpse." He clearly wanted, or needed her to understand. Paden was more than willing to oblige him.

"It's all right, Anders. You don't have to keep trying to convince me. I understand. We can't always predict the outcome of our actions. We can only make them with a true heart." She didn't blame Anders for wanting to help Justice. Who's to say she wouldn't have done the same thing in his place?

Anders smiled, relieved, and obviously pleased with what she said. "Kind, wise and beautiful," he said. "You must have made a deal with some demons yourself."

Paden arched her eyebrows, did he just say she was beautiful? He seemed shocked by his own words, and blushed slightly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't presume," he stammered. "I just…we've hardly met and I feel like I know you."

Paden swallowed and glanced away, unable to wipe the silly grin off her face. She had never had a man compliment her like that before. Not in a sincere way. Not without an ulterior motive. The men she had met in her line of work would give her compliments like that all the time, but theirs always seemed like an attempt to get their foot in the door, rather than being a genuine expression of how they truly felt. She looked back at Anders, meeting his amber gaze for a moment, and she knew that he was sincere. He really thought she was beautiful. That realization made her heart flutter and her cheeks blush.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Anders asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

Paden smiled shyly and shook her head. No, he was making her feel wonderful. "Keep telling me I'm beautiful," she said, her voice quivering slightly. "You can't go wrong with that."

Anders gave her that lopsided smile again. "Oh, I'm sure I can get more creative than that," he said, and then the smile vanished and he turned away. "No I…I shouldn't do this. I don't want to hurt you."

Paden's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would you hurt me?"

Anders went over to a nearby cot and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm not a safe man to get involved with," he explained. "You saw what I did in the chantry. That's who I am. A year ago, maybe we could have had something. But I'm not that man anymore." He closed his eyes. "I'll break your heart, and that might kill me as surely as the Templars."

Paden stood there looking down at him for a moment, her thoughts and emotions swirling like a tempest inside her. What was he doing, drawing her in with his wit and charm, making her feel like something other than a piece of meat, only to turn around and drop a load of bricks on her like that? She swallowed hard, not willing to let him go so easily. She sat down on the cot beside him.

"Don't you think that's my risk to take?" she asked him softly.

He glanced over at her and shook his head. "I shouldn't have said anything before. I wasn't thinking, I apologize."

"Don't apologize," Paden said. "You were only speaking your thoughts." She smiled slightly. "It's flattering that you would think so of me." She watched him for a moment, but he continued to stare straight ahead, apparently unwilling to back down after having made up his mind. This saddened Paden, but what was she expecting anyway? They had just met. She didn't come here hoping to start a romance—in fact that hadn't even entered her mind until the moment he told her she was beautiful. She had just wanted to be his friend.

She sighed softly and closed her eyes. "Would…would you be willing to be my friend at least? We just met. Nothing need go beyond friendship just now."

He looked over at her. "You'd like to be my friend? I know a lot of people, but not many I could truly call a friend."

"Well, consider me one then," Paden said with a smile. "I don't have many myself."

"All right then. Friends," Anders said, his smile lighting his eyes again. He held out his hand to her, and with a slight laugh she took it and they shook on it.

"So, friend," she said, standing up and facing him. "We're all hanging out at the Hanged Man tonight. Cards and drinks, that sort of thing. Why don't you join us?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Anders said. "I don't think your brother likes me much."

"He doesn't really like anybody," Paden said. "Come on. I'd love it if you came."

Anders stood up. "Thank you for the invitation. I…may come."

—

Night time at the Hanged Man was busy. The miners got off work, and the first place they went to was the bars to drink away their sorry plight. But the Hanged Man was a big place, and there was usually room enough for everyone. And if there wasn't, Varric had a good sized table in his suite there. But for the atmosphere that night they chose to sit on the main floor at one of the larger tables.

Paden sipped her ale slowly, every now and then glancing at the door, hoping to see Anders come in. They had been there for nearly a half hour already. She was starting to wonder if he really wasn't going to show.

"All right, Dealer's Diamondback," Varric said, shuffling a tall deck of cards. "I'm the dealer, so I'm putting in an ante…let's say three bits."

"Three bits?" Carver exclaimed. "I can buy a mug of Corff's finest for that much."

Varric laughed. "Corff's finest is worth only three bits. Come on, chuck it out, Junior."

Paden took three copper coins from her stack and tossed them onto the center of the table. Carver did likewise.

"Why do we have to play Dealer's Diamondback?" Carver complained.

"So I can get your ante if you fold, obviously," Varric said. He began dealing cards, two facedown to each player.

Paden glanced at the door again and sighed softly. She took another sip of her ale as she peeled back her cards to see what she got.

A king and a priest. That was one of the worst hands she could get.

"First bet is five bits," Varric announced after he looked at his own cards. "You in, Junior?"

Carver studied his cards a lot longer than necessary. "All right," he said, and tossed the coins onto the table.

"Hawke? You in?"

Paden glanced at her cards again. There was only one way she would be able to win with that hand, and that was if both Carver and Varric got double priests or nothing. But before she could make a decision, the door opened and Anders walked in. He stood there a moment, glancing around the room, trying to find a familiar face in the dim lighting. Paden noticed her heart rate increase a little and she forced herself to act normal.

"Oh, look who it is," she said, and stood up slightly, waving to get his attention. Anders saw her and smiled as he made his way over.

"What's he doing here?" Carver asked. "Did you invite him?"

"I might have," Paden said. "Be nice, Carver." She grinned at Anders once he reached their table. "Hello, so glad you could make it," she said.

"Grab a chair, Blondie," Varric offered, gesturing to an empty seat.

"Thank you," Anders said as he sat down. "What's the game?"

"Diamondback," Paden offered. "Deal him in, Varric."

"We already started betting this round," Carver said.

"Well, then let's deal again," Paden said, tossing her cards on the pot. A good excuse to acquire a better hand anyway.

"We'd need a whole other deck to deal four people," Carver said, apparently very eager to find an excuse to exclude Anders from their table.

"Who do you take me for, Junior?" Varric asked. "I always have an extra deck up my sleeve."

"I hope you don't hide an extra Magician up there as well," Anders said with a wry smile.

"Come on, Blondie, I don't cheat," Varric said, spreading his hands.

Paden chuckled. "I should hope not, Varric."

Varric took out another deck and spent a few moments shuffling them together. "So, Blondie, you play Diamondback?"

"I have. When I was with the Wardens I'd sit in on a few games. I'm probably a bit rusty though."

"What do you drink?" Paden asked Anders.

"Oh, I'll…have whatever you're having," he said, gesturing to her half empty mug.

Paden motioned to the waitress to bring over another ale.

"Not a big drinker?" Carver asked.

"Not anymore, no," Anders said. "But back in the day I could drink the socks off pretty much anyone who challenged me."

"So why not anymore?" Carver asked.

"Well, Justice doesn't like it when I get drunk," Anders admitted. "It got to be no fun anymore."

Carver and Varric exchanged awkward glances. They had probably been trying to forget about Justice.

The waitress set a mug down in front of Anders, but he didn't touch it right away.

"So, the ante is three bits," Varric said. "You came with coin, right?"

Anders took out his coin purse and tossed three coppers onto the table. Varric began dealing.

Paden glanced at her cards. A priestess and a queen. Not bad. She was definitely staying in the game.

"Same bet as before," Varric said. "Five bits to stay in the game." They all tossed their money into the pot. "Turn a card over," Varric instructed for Anders' benefit.

Paden glanced at her cards again and chose to turn over the queen. Carver held a priest, and Anders held a magician.

"Ooh," Varric said. "Blondie has the potential to win the pot tonight with that magician." He turned over his own card, which was a king.

"Another round of bets," he said, tossing six bits into the pot. "Six. Give it or leave it."

Paden considered. She thought she had a pretty good hand. She decided she'd stay in the game. Anders and Carver both matched Varric's bet as well.

"Excellent," Varric said. "Round two show of hands."

Paden turned up her priestess. Carver turned over a king, and Anders showed a priest."

"Oh, so close, Blondie," Varric said. "But no magic." He turned up his card to reveal a priestess. Paden and Carver groaned.

"What?" Anders asked. "I admit I'm not very good at this game. Did he just win?"

Paden nodded. "His cards score fifty points together. I got forty-five points, Carver has…" she chuckled, "Ten points, and you got thirty."

Varric gathered the coins and pulled them to his side of the table.

"It's the scoring I never remember," Anders admitted.

"I wish you would quit taking my coin, dwarf," Carver complained.

Varric chuckled. "If you want to keep your coin, Junior, then quit losing."

"Well we could at least play regular Diamondback so we don't have to ante," Carver said.

"I have to agree with my brother on this one, Varric. We're trying to save our coin, after all."

"Yes, and a free clinic doesn't exactly provide a substantial income," Anders agreed.

All right, all right," Varric consented. He gathered their cards and began reshuffling the deck. "So… a human, an elf and a dwarf all walk into a bar…"

Anders grinned. "The human says, 'you're lucky you're so short; that hurt like mad!"

Varric stopped shuffling to cast a sideways glance at the healer. "You could have just stopped me, Blondie."

"Why waste a perfectly good setup?"

Paden giggled and took a sip of her ale, her eyes smiling at Anders over the rim of her mug. He returned the smile, but then quickly looked away.

"So, Anders," she said. "You were a Gray Warden at Amaranthine?"

He nodded and took a sip of his drink. "For a short time, yes."

"Did you really leave because they made you get rid of your cat?"

He smiled thoughtfully and shook his head. "No, that's not the only reason," he admitted.

He didn't elaborate, so Paden pressed. "Then why? Was it not what you thought it would be when you joined?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't join the Wardens by choice."

"How is one forced to become a Warden?" Carver asked. "I thought they recruit their ranks."

"Usually they do," Anders agreed. "But they can also invoke the right of conscription."

"You were conscripted? Why?" Paden asked.

"As an act of mercy from a friend I guess," Anders said. "I would have been returned to the Circle by the Templars if the Warden Commander hadn't stepped in and conscripted me. It was the only way she had authority over the Templars' right."

"But wasn't being a Warden better than being imprisoned in the Circle?" Paden asked.

Anders shrugged. "It has its pros and cons. I escaped the Circle so many times it almost didn't matter anymore if I was caught; I'd just escape again. But the Wardens… well, it's a different kind of prison I suppose." He took another sip of his ale and then grinned suddenly. "But at least they had pie. That was a definite perk."

Paden chuckled as Varric began dealing another round, and they all paused to study their cards. Paden held a queen and a priest. Not worth the effort.

"So you served with the Warden Commander then?" Varric said. "As in Queen of Ferelden Warden Commender? Married to the King? Slayer of the Arch Demon?"

"The one and only," Anders confirmed.

"And what was that like?" Varric asked.

"It was great," Anders said with that lopsided smile of his. "We'd stay up all night drinking and playing Diamondback while having belching contests. And in the morning we'd go out and kill a few dozen Darkspawn."

Paden gaped at him in surprise. "You're not serious, right? Belching contests?"

"Well, I guess I never did that with the Warden Commander. But there was this one dwarf there who was pretty good at it." He took a sip of his drink and then tossed his bet on the table. "Seriously though, she was a good warrior, and a good person. She cared about people and always put her men first. I consider her one of my few real friends. It was a real honor serving under her command."

"If you liked her so much then why did you leave her?" Carver asked.

Anders chuckled and scratched the stubble on his chin. "Truth be told, I couldn't leave her. I tried once. Left after a few months in service. Didn't stay gone long though. Didn't feel right, to abandon her like that, after everything she did for me. So I came back."

"But then you left again anyway, and came here," Paden said.

Anders nodded. "Well, she wasn't the Warden Commander forever. There came the day when she went back to Denerim to continue being queen, and I was left with the new Warden Commander." A far away look entered Anders' eyes, and his brow creased with the memory of some long ago event that was apparently very painful to recall. "He and I didn't get along so well," he said simply. "So I left, permanently this time."

"Your bet, Hawke," Varric informed.

Paden held up her hand and shook her head. "I fold."

"Then it's your bet, Junior."

Carver threw his coin into the pot, and then Varric called their hands.

"Do you ever regret leaving the Wardens?" Paden asked, fingering the rim of her mug.

Anders glanced up at her from studying the cards on the table. "Regret it? No, never once. I have a better life here."

"A better life in Kirkwall?" Carver said incredulously. "In Darktown no less."

"I help a lot of people," Anders said. "I feel more useful here than I ever did as a Warden."

Paden smiled. "Can't fault you for that. I've seen the good you do."

"The bet is four bits," Varric announced.

"I fold," Anders said.

"So it's just you and me, Junior," Varric said.

Carver tossed his money onto the table. The last cards were turned over, and Caver groaned. "I hate you, dwarf. You never let anyone else win."

Varric chuckled. "Why would I let you win, Junior? I don't play this game to lose." He gathered the cards and shuffled them a few times.

"Does anyone have a hope of winning around you, Varric?" Anders asked.

"Sure they do. I've been known to lose occasionally."

They went three more rounds of Diamondback, all of which Varric won. Paden stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

"I think I'm going to call it a night, gentlemen," she said.

"But it's still early, Hawke," Varric said as he shuffled cards.

"Maybe so," Paden replied. "But I've had too many late nights this week. I'm beat." She stood up. "Don't you all stop on my account though."

Anders stood up also. "Actually…mind if I walk you home?"

She arched her eyebrows in surprise. "I live just down the street," she said. "A two minute walk at most."

"I'd like to see where you live," Anders said.

"You're both leaving?" Carver said. He smiled. "Great, then you and I can play Wicked Grace, Varric."

Varric laughed. "I do cheat at Wicked Grace, Junior."

"See you tomorrow," Paden said, and then she left the tavern. Anders followed her.

Once they were outside in the moonlight Paden took a deep breath. "I forget how stuffy it can get in there," she said.

"The fresh air does feel good," Anders agreed.

Paden gestured. "I live just down there." They began walking slowly in that direction.

"I want to thank you for inviting me tonight," Anders said.

"I'm glad you came."

"So am I. That dwarf friend of yours is all right. Your brother still hates me though."

"Well, he's not too keen on mages in general," Paden said.

"But you're a mage," Anders said. "Doesn't he feel any sense of loyalty?"

"Of course he does. He'd never turn me in to the Templars, and he'd protect me with his life, I have no doubt of that. But he's loyal to me because I'm family. He resents me for being a mage."

"But you can't help what you were born as," Anders said. "Where did he get this hatred of mages?"

Paden shook her head. "He doesn't hate mages, he just doesn't care about them." She sighed. "My father was a mage, and an apostate, and so was my sister, Carver's twin."

Anders arched his eyebrows in surprise. "That's a lot of apostates under one roof."

Paden chuckled. "You could say that. And to say that my brother felt out numbered is an understatement. Not to mention that Father seemed to favor his mage daughters over his average son. That's where most of the resentment came from I think."

"That's a shame," Anders said. "He could use his understanding of mages to do so much good."

Paden shrugged. "I've had to come to accept how he is. I don't think anything will ever change his mind. He's pretty stubborn." She stopped walking and gestured to the building on her right. "This is where I live," she said.

Anders smiled. "Good to know." Then he turned to face her and bowed slightly. "You have a good night, my friend. If you ever need my help for anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Paden smiled slightly. "I'll keep that in mind," she said.

Anders turned and walked away, and Paden watched him go until he was out of sight around the corner. Then she went inside Gamlen's house and got ready for bed. She crawled under the blankets and laid awake for a good hour, Anders on her mind.

—

A/N: A big thank you to all my readers and reviewers!